Guggenheim Enlists Designers and Artisans to Interpret Hilma af Klint's Work for a Dazzling Capsule Collection

The Swedish artist’s work is reimagined in offerings as varied as quilts and ceramics

On October 12, the Guggenheim will open the first major solo exhibition dedicated to the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint, titled Hilma af Klint: Paintings for the Future. A large fraction of the population will likely be experiencing af Klint’s work for the first time, thanks in equal part to the frequent overlooking of women in the abstract art world and an unusual stipulation by af Klint herself that her paintings not be shown for 20 years after her death—hence the exhibition name. But fans and first-timers alike will be captivated by the artist’s lyrical forms and moody colors. Meanwhile, there will be something equally exciting going on in the museum shop, where director of retail strategy Gigi Loizzo and senior manager of merchandise and product development Katherine Lock have enlisted nine designers and artisans (most of whom were, themselves, initially unfamiliar with af Klint’s work) to reinterpret her style in their respective media. Through offerings as varied as silk scarves, ceramic incense burners, and cotton quilts, the museum underscores the enduring relevance of af Klint’s aesthetic.

“In the beginning stages of planning the exhibition, we had the chance to sit down with the curatorial team for an introduction to Hilma, who I had never heard of, and we were struck by the art and the imagery and quite astonished by her story,” says Loizzo. “She created abstract art starting in 1906, years before the folks we tend to associate most with abstract art were doing it.”

Over the course of a two-year period, Loizzo and Lock worked together to find artists to reinterpret these abstract themes in their own ways. The result is a 60-piece capsule collection of apparel, accessories, jewelry, and tabletop that riffs on af Klint’s style for a modern era. “A lot of artists really resonated with Hilma’s spirit,” Loizzo says.

Ceramics by Michele Quan render af Klint’s forms in Quan’s palette.

Photo: Allison Chipak

One of those artists was Brooklyn ceramist Michele Quan, one of the few participants already familiar with af Klint’s work. “I first learned of the work of Hilma af Klint in 2016 when, in Marfa, Texas, I picked up a beautiful book of her paintings,” recalls Quan, who says she was struck by the similarity af Klint’s shapes bore to the Tantric Indian paintings she’s long loved—and seen as inspiration. “Immediately I saw common themes and visual symbols that I had also been exploring in my own work,” Quan says. “The most obvious that jumped out was the half black-and-white circle. The reduction of images, shapes, and colors to symbolize energy, both in motion and stillness, seen and unseen, is a process I’m very interested in and seems to be very prevalent in her work.”

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Indeed, af Klint’s exploration of the spiritual was one reason Lock and Loizzo instantly thought of Quan for this project. “I always joke, if I needed a spiritual guru, it would be Michele,” quips Loizzo. “She’s very in touch with spirituality and rendering it in different ways.” For the collection, Quan has created a line of ceramics that includes bells, altarpieces, ornaments, dishes, an incense burner, and a vase. She’s also working on a store window for the Guggenheim shop.

A necklace by Karen Konzuk.

Photo: Allison Chipak

For jeweler Karen Konzuk, af Klint’s motifs suggested the organic forms by which she is inspired in her own work. “Her repetitive circle motifs and unexpected combinations of color inspired the spring colorways for my Bloom collection,” Konzuk says. “Like Hilma af Klint’s abstractions based on forms taken from nature, the Bloom collection references botanical forms. My work also shares af Klint’s appreciation for the geometric symmetrical duality of visual languages—such as segmented circles divided into a spectrum of thoughtfully painted colors—that marries with deeply considered colorways.”

“Her paintings have a timeless and a truly modern aesthetic,” Konzuk muses. “There seems to be a mysterious underlying narrative that exists in each composition, and these non-representational compositions allow the viewer to bring their own history and interpretations into their appreciation of each piece.”

Clothing by Maya Luz.

Photo: Charles Ludeke

Colleen and Margaret Clines of textile studio Anchal Project bring just that kind of layered interpretation to their designs. “Our work with Anchal focuses on the convergence of vernacular imagery, heritage artwork, and women’s journey to empowerment through the medium of quilting,” the sisters tell AD PRO over email. “The synergy found between our textile narrative process and Hilma’s use of geometry and symbolic linework resulted in textile compositions charged with her fluid spiral symbols and an investigation into a formal geometric language.”

“I was really struck by the way they took that traditional Khata quilting, that very old, traditional work, and really modernized it and made it feel fresh and new,” says Liozzo of the resulting scarves, throws, tote bags, and kimonos. “I think they were just spot-on with their designs.”

Though it is a coincidence that seven of the nine artisans working on interpretations to complement a show celebrating a long-overlooked female artist are women, it’s one that Lock and Loizzo don’t mind. “I think there’s kind of a sense of women at the forefront of design right now,” says Lock. “And that’s something I’m happy to be behind.”

For the Guggenheim store, this opportunity comes at a perfect time, when the worlds of art, design, fashion, and retail seem more interconnected than ever. “I think museums, in general, are now considering the store experience part of the entire experience of the exhibition, and so greater importance and respect is paid to the shop—people consider it a must do,” Lock says. “So it’s exciting to be able to create products to round out the experience.”